Thursday night Jason Aldean got to finish what he started in Las Vegas.
The country superstar returned to the stage for the first time since his performance abruptly ended when a gunman began firing on crowds October 1 at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Vegas, killing at least 58 people and injuring hundreds more.
Aldean was performing when the gunfire erupted, forcing him and his band to flee the stage as bullets rained down on concertgoers.
He suspended his tour immediately after the tragedy.
“I feel like out of respect for the victims, their families and our fans, it is the right thing to do,” Aldean said in a statement. “It has been an emotional time for everyone involved this week, so we plan to take some time to mourn the ones we have lost and be close with our family and friends.”
That fateful night was on Aldean’s mind when he resumed his They Don’t Know Tour on Thursday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I want this not to be something that’s going to be a downer for the rest of the night,” Aldean told the audience in video of the concert posted on social media.
“I want to play the show for you guys that the people in Las Vegas came to see and didn’t get a chance to.”
The victims from that night have not been far from Aldean’s mind.
Last weekend he paid tribute to them on “Saturday Night Live” and hours later visited some of the more critically injured at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada.
Two of Las Vegas shooting survivors were present at Thursday’s concert, according to Tulsa radio station KWEN-FM (K95.5).
“These two were saving lives in the Las Vegas shooting,” said a photo caption posted on the station’s Facebook page. “A week in a half later they’re in Tulsa finally getting to finish the Jason Aldean concert.”
